A new poll finds 52 percent of Americans say doctors should have limits on the amount and dosage of pain medication they are allowed to prescribe. Almost half of those surveyed said prescription drug addiction is a major U.S. health problem.
Florida’s success in combating prescription drug abuse is due to a combination of law enforcement and legislative action, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
CVS Pharmacy has agreed to pay $11 million, in order to settle civil charges for violating the Controlled Substances Act at pharmacies in Oklahoma, according to USA Today.
Experts are meeting this week to discuss how to stop the epidemic of prescription drug abuse, according to the Orlando Sentinel. They include leaders from government, the pharmaceutical industry, and public health and safety groups.
Drug-related deaths increased 3 percent in 2010, and preliminary figures indicate the upward trend continued in 2011, the Los Angeles Times reports.
FedEx and UPS say they are targets of a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation into online pharmacy shipments, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
The number of deaths due to oxycodone decreased by 29 percent in Florida in the first six months of 2012, compared with the second half of the previous year, according to a new report.
The abuse of prescription drugs is well documented, but if we are to expand our fight against prescription drug abuse and want the support of policy makers, it is incumbent upon us to find new sources of revenue that will pay for the changes that must be made, says Andrew Kessler, substance abuse and mental health specialist.
A new bill introduced Friday in the U.S. House of Representatives would require new drugs, and certain generic drugs, to have tamper-resistant formulas, ABC News reports. The proposed legislation is designed to reduce prescription drug abuse.
Legislators at a hearing in California this week called on the state’s Medical Board to use a statewide database of prescriptions to help find physicians who overprescribe painkillers, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The group representing the nation’s attorneys general is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to require manufacturers and marketers of generic prescription pain drugs to develop versions of their products that are resistant to tampering and abuse.
Prescription painkiller abuse, which has centered on Eastern and Southern states, is now taking hold in Western states, The Wall Street Journal reports.
A bill introduced in Pennsylvania is designed to prevent people from other states from filling painkiller prescriptions there.
A bill introduced by a Nevada state senator would allow patients addicted to prescription drugs to sue the physicians who prescribed the drugs, as well as the products’ manufacturers. The measure is strongly opposed, according to the Associated Press.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear approved legislation this week that modifies the state’s new prescription drug law, to make it easier for patients in hospitals, nursing homes and hospice centers to receive painkillers.
There is disagreement among doctors about the best way to prevent prescription painkiller abuse, sometimes even among physicians in the same hospital, according to The Plain Dealer. The Cleveland Clinic is among the institutions where colleagues disagree on the best approach to the problem.
A growing number of people are becoming addicted to heroin in New York state, according to drug treatment counselors and police. They say many people have switched to heroin from prescription painkillers, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone.
The number of deadly drug overdoses in the United States increased for the 11th consecutive year, according to new government data. More than 22,000 people died of overdoses involving prescription drugs in 2010.
The second National Rx Drug Abuse Summit, to be held April 2-4, 2013, will bring together top leaders from many disciplines, and provide all stakeholders timely, relevant and evidence-based information to help put an end to prescription drug abuse, explains Karen Kelly of Operation Unite.
Substance abuse prevention programs that begin in middle school may help deter prescription drug abuse in later years, new research suggests.
A growing number of pets are being accidentally poisoned, and prescription medicines are largely to blame, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Many doctors in the United Kingdom (U.K.) are reluctant to prescribe painkillers, CNN reports. Patients in the U.K. take less than half the pain medication consumed by American patients.
Over the past decade, America has experienced a rampant rise in the number of people addicted to prescription painkillers, heroin and other opioids. We truly face an epidemic, says Dr. Marvin Seppala of Hazelden.
Prescription opioid overdoses rose seven-fold in New York City from 1990 to 2006, according to researchers at Columbia University. They found the increase in drug overdoses was due to painkillers. Methadone overdoses remained stable, and heroin overdoses decreased during the same period.
Prescription drug thieves are stealing from medicine cabinets during open houses, ABC News reports.
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